Monday, May 20, 2013

West Brom 5-5 Manchester United

I'll admit i wasn't really expecting much from the match yesterday, you could see last week that the players had lost that 5% that really matters, but that game being at home, we just about sneaked home. West Brom have had a pretty good season, and nobody has really took them apart on their own manor. So when the third goal went in, i had to tear up the script in my head i had expected, a low scoring tight match.
Fergie picked a reasonably attacking side, unfortunately Anderson and Buttner both made an appearance, and Lindegaard was picked between the sticks for possibly his last appearance at the club. Given his performance, i would be more than happy for that to be the case, i have long thought Amos to be a better number two and i hope he is given a choice to prove it next season.
United started the game a bit demob happy with Carrick hitting one brilliant if dangerous cross field at the back that I'm fairly certain would not have been tried a couple of months ago. The first goal was totally unexpected as Hernandez turned creator with a superb cross from the right for Kagawa to make no mistake heading home. Not long after Valencia starting at right back, crossed hard and low and the ball was turned past goalie Foster by the home teams own centre half Olsson. It seemed as if the script was being written for Fergie to go out on a real high. When Buttner added a third on the half hour it seemed as if he was going to go out on an almost perfect note.
The goal pulled back with five minutes to go pulled us back from that fantasy island scenario, it was a bit soft, but to be fair we looked vulnerable at the back all afternoon. Buttner may be decent going forward, but he can't defend to save his life, and i always think sticking Lindegaard in goal affects the men in front of him as they really don't seem to have much confidence in him. As the second half was to show that's a pretty good assessment of his capability in goal.
The home team got the second after just five minutes of the second half as a fairly tame shot from outside the box still managed to beat Lindegaard's outstretched hand. With the substitutions that Fergie was bound to make on an emotional day, i thought West Brom might then come on strong at us. But it was United who went  back to the other end and took the score to five with Van Persie and Hernandez adding the goals.
You couldn't really see West Brom coming back from that, but i'm afraid United just fell apart at the back for the remaining ten minutes, the home team scoring two in a minute, how often does that happen to us ? The equaliser was the most disappointing goal to give away, that was almost comic, thankfully it didn't really matter, five five wasn't a bad way to go out for Fergie and Scholes. Scholes made sure he didn't go through his last thirty minutes of professional football without picking up an obligatory yellow card, some things never change.
So that is that, the last we see of the ginger prince, who will not be replaced, not like for like anyway, and of Fergie, they'll never be another Fergie either. I have to admit i'm in the school that's excited by the thought of next season, but I'm sure that first game of the season with David Moyes in the dugout will still feel strange as fuck at first.

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